Let the Music Play 26: Whitsundays

[shadowgod]

Chapter 26 is up!

[TalonRider]

Nice fun chapter to read. With as much as the story changed, I thought I was a football game.

 

That's all I'll say for now since this is an early post.

[MikeL]

Another good chapter, CJ. There's one little hitch in the boys' plans, but Brandon is flying high.

 

Looking forward to Chapter 27, "Carlisle Island".

Edited February 12, 2008 by MikeL

[FrenchCanadian]

Nice fun chapter to read. With as much as the story changed, I thought I was a football game.

 

That's all I'll say for now since this is an early post.

 

I like the chapter, it was very entertaining indeed. As always, I might also add. The only criticism that I can see is that, ya, the football game analogy ain't a bad one.

[TalonRider]

I like the chapter, it was very entertaining indeed. As always, I might also add. The only criticism that I can see is that, ya, the football game analogy ain't a bad one.

I used football instead of tennis since football can change directions slower than tennis.

[YaP]

Yes, another great chapter indeed !

And i like the change in speed and direction (so maybe i would like american football too.. if i would be able to understand what it is all about ).

I suspect Brandon's flying skills will come in handy at some time

The cliffhanger for the week: will the GPS be discovered ?

[FrenchCanadian]

I suspect Brandon's flying skills will come in handy at some time

The cliffhanger for the week: will the GPS be discovered ?

 

I dunno, I'm sure that the flying skills will come in handy in another situation,, I mean, yes there was this PR thing,, but I wouldn't be surprise to see it again (it's a shame that the journalist saw it right through the plan. Tho the pilot did say that Brendan is still too unexperienced to be possibly be landing...

 

Well it has been the "cliffhanger", if you'll call it that way, for the last 2 chapters.

[Bondwriter]

Well it has been the "cliffhanger", if you'll call it that way, for the last 2 chapters.

Yes, but this time Dimitri is going to check. What do you guys think of Vladimir? Is he really this naive? Or does he have ulterior motives?

[wildone]

Yes, but this time Dimitri is going to check. What do you guys think of Vladimir? Is he really this naive? Or does he have ulterior motives?

 

 

I was thinking the same thing. He seemed a little too over the top with his childlike attitude to seeing the roos and koalas. Really, Dimitri and J/S are totally relying on him to give them workable bombs. It would be interesting if Vlad disappeared the night before the demonstration and not the kind of disappearance that has been alluded to in the story.

 

For some reason, I still believe that either Dimitri or Vladimir are deep, deep, deep under cover for some agency. I think J/S will be in for a big surprise within his close group very soon. I guess another person who should be looked at a little more closely too is Vlad's assistant. All we know about him is capable gunsmith.

 

At the closing of the chapter, I was beginning to wonder about the GPS. Someone mentioned that it doesn't emit any frequency, so scanning the vehicle wouldn't necessarily detect the GPS. I imagine a visual search might do that, so let's hope Dimitri relies too much on his electronic sweep too much. Now it is interesting that if the guys get the GPS back, will they really be able to do anything with the co-ordinates. They appear to be too far away from the compound to rent a vehicle and drive out there. So does Brandon's new skills as a student pilot come into play in the near future? It probably wouldn't be too hard for the guys to convince Helen to rent them a plane and pilot under the idea of Brandon showing them what he has learned, when really they have other ideas in play.

 

I know CJ won't comment on much or any of this, so it will have to remain as pure speculation until future chapters.

 

So what do you all think?

 

Steve

[BeaStKid]

Ok...customary cliffhanger...check.... adventure...check...fun...check...jokes...check...

 

Hmmm... the chapter seems fine to me..

 

 

I can't wait to see (read?) what Dmitri finds from his examination... And also how Brandon learns flying...I have always loved flying and it is something I would like to learn someday...

 

Now that J/S can't come to their island in the Rover, how will Jon and Eric get hold of their GPS???

 

Too many questions, and only one way to find out-----> Carlisle Island, here I come!!

 

BeaStKid

[FrenchCanadian]

Yes, but this time Dimitri is going to check. What do you guys think of Vladimir? Is he really this naive? Or does he have ulterior motives?

 

Vladimir? in this chapter? um, I dunno he seemed very childish to me. I dunno just based on this particular chapter i'd say that he's a little retarded.

 

Is it only an act? I really can't say for sure. But it can make sense cause from time to time, people that seems retarded can make things that not many can do.

[Benji]

I was thinking the same thing. He seemed a little too over the top with his childlike attitude to seeing the roos and koalas. Really, Dimitri and J/S are totally relying on him to give them workable bombs. It would be interesting if Vlad disappeared the night before the demonstration and not the kind of disappearance that has been alluded to in the story.

 

For some reason, I still believe that either Dimitri or Vladimir are deep, deep, deep under cover for some agency. I think J/S will be in for a big surprise within his close group very soon. I guess another person who should be looked at a little more closely too is Vlad's assistant. All we know about him is capable gunsmith.

 

At the closing of the chapter, I was beginning to wonder about the GPS. Someone mentioned that it doesn't emit any frequency, so scanning the vehicle wouldn't necessarily detect the GPS. I imagine a visual search might do that, so let's hope Dimitri relies too much on his electronic sweep too much. Now it is interesting that if the guys get the GPS back, will they really be able to do anything with the co-ordinates. They appear to be too far away from the compound to rent a vehicle and drive out there. So does Brandon's new skills as a student pilot come into play in the near future? It probably wouldn't be too hard for the guys to convince Helen to rent them a plane and pilot under the idea of Brandon showing them what he has learned, when really they have other ideas in play.

 

I know CJ won't comment on much or any of this, so it will have to remain as pure speculation until future chapters.

 

So what do you all think?

 

Steve

 

 

................I thought that Vladimar was going to sleep with the kangaroo's right up to when Dimitri asked him to look up. I doubt either one of them are deep cover agents, if anyone is, it would probably be Gunter....the man is to quiet!! Who knows maybe it is Helen, and she put tracking devices in the stuffed kangaroos! I was also wondering if the "sweeper" would pick up the GPS since it sends no signal. Does J/S even know where Instinct are staying at! Lastly, the "pony express" is pretty damn slow, in the timeline the band and "freinds' stayed another two days before leaving for the Island, yet no word on Lump!

[MikeL]

From Chapter 23:

Shaking his head, The Scar replied,

[FrenchCanadian]

From Chapter 23:

 

Possibly...an aviation accident? Maybe Scar and his hired assassin don't read the teeny bopper magazines and are unaware of Brandon's flying skills. Brandon may take over the controls of Instinct's aircraft in an "arranged" emergency and save the day. Our hero! Of course, he needs to master landing first.

 

ya, for some reason, the entire discussion about crashing on water and all that seemed a little suspicious to me,, i'm sure it serve for something precise.

 

At least we know that the band will survive the tour in australia and will be unharmed at least till they're safely back in america

[Tiger]

From Chapter 23:

 

Possibly...an aviation accident? Maybe Scar and his hired assassin don't read the teeny bopper magazines and are unaware of Brandon's flying skills. Brandon may take over the controls of Instinct's aircraft in an "arranged" emergency and save the day. Our hero! Of course, he needs to master landing first.

It's becoming quite obvious that The Scar is trying to kill them. I still haven't figured out what the nukes have to do with it or if the nukes are a separate issue all together.

[Benji]

It's becoming quite obvious that The Scar is trying to kill them. I still haven't figured out what the nukes have to do with it or if the nukes are a separate issue all together.

 

 

.......from what I gather the nuke is the leverage Scar will use as blackmail to take over a South American country. :wacko: Why he wants to kill the Band is anyones guess, but he did say, "Business is Business"

[Tiger]

.......from what I gather the nuke is the leverage Scar will use as blackmail to take over a South American country. :wacko: Why he wants to kill the Band is anyones guess, but he did say, "Business is Business"

I still think part of the reason might be revenge for his son. I still think he has something to do with it, but he has yet to come out of the woodwork.

[Benji]

I still think part of the reason might be revenge for his son. I still think he has something to do with it, but he has yet to come out of the woodwork.

 

 

..............Jerry may have concerns for his son, but Scar could care less!

[FrenchCanadian]

I still think part of the reason might be revenge for his son. I still think he has something to do with it, but he has yet to come out of the woodwork.

 

 

..............Jerry may have concerns for his son, but Scar could care less!

 

I think that Jerry/Scar don't give a crap about his son. So why in hell would he kill the bad for revenge of his son??

[AFriendlyFace]

I think that Jerry/Scar don't give a crap about his son. So why in hell would he kill the bad for revenge of his son??

I think his only motive, and certainly sufficient enough from his standpoint, for killing the band (apart from being irritated with Eric) is his desire to make sure his tracks are well-covered and that no one figures out where the nuclear weapons (which he intends to transport secretively mixed in with the band equipment) are hidden.

 

 

I enjoyed this chapter (and the three preceding it since I had several to catch up on )

 

Like some other mentioned I'm eager to see what's going on with Lump. I'm also very eager to discover what happens next with Steve and Wilde.

 

 

Take care and have a great day!

Kevin

[BlueSoxSWJ]

................I thought that Vladimar was going to sleep with the kangaroo's right up to when Dimitri asked him to look up.

 

The prologue already tells us that Vladimir will survive to see at least one bomb fully completed.

 

The discussion about a plane over water sounds eerily like a foreshadow ... but this is CJ, so who knows? (Maybe not even CJ, yet!)

 

On the one hand, the lack of word about Lump is odd ... on the other, Helen may already know but is keeping Instinct in the dark, to let them enjoy the vacation without being forced to think about the whole media thing for a while.

 

Finally, we probably don't know enough about the GPS to know if it'll get caught by an electronic sweep - obviously, it receives comms from a satellite at all times, but some brands broadcast back; we also don't know if the detector used by J/S/Dimitri will pick up the incoming signals to the GPS anyways, or if they sweep for outgoing only.

[YaP]

The prologue already tells us that Vladimir will survive to see at least one bomb fully completed.

 

The discussion about a plane over water sounds eerily like a foreshadow ... but this is CJ, so who knows? (Maybe not even CJ, yet!)

 

On the one hand, the lack of word about Lump is odd ... on the other, Helen may already know but is keeping Instinct in the dark, to let them enjoy the vacation without being forced to think about the whole media thing for a while.

 

Finally, we probably don't know enough about the GPS to know if it'll get caught by an electronic sweep - obviously, it receives comms from a satellite at all times, but some brands broadcast back; we also don't know if the detector used by J/S/Dimitri will pick up the incoming signals to the GPS anyways, or if they sweep for outgoing only.

 

Technically, a GPS is a receiver only, and picks up signals from satellites that can be picked up everywhere "in sight" of the satellite (GPS satellite signals are rather weak...). There is no signal going back to the satellite from a GPS. So if a sweeper device picks up the "incoming" GPS signal, it will pick it up everywhere (pointing to the satellite as the source, with no evidence to the receiver of the signal... its a broadcast...). Some GPS devices have other communication equipment like bluetooth to communicate with a PC or mobile phone etc.. which could be picked up by a sweeper if it is active. Modern GPS devices don't consume a lot of power, so its hard to detect the electronic activity itself with a sweeper, especially in an environment like a car... so IMHO you cannot detect a GPS receiver under the hood of a car with a sweeper (except if there is a bluetooth or WLAN interface active on it...). You have to use your eyes . But if i would "sweep" a car, it would always include a manual search

[C James]

Sorry for over-doing the scene changes in this chapter. I tend to use them for time-shifts, and got a little too heavy-handed.

 

At the closing of the chapter, I was beginning to wonder about the GPS. Someone mentioned that it doesn't emit any frequency, so scanning the vehicle wouldn't necessarily detect the GPS. I imagine a visual search might do that, so let's hope Dimitri relies too much on his electronic sweep too much. Now it is interesting that if the guys get the GPS back, will they really be able to do anything with the co-ordinates. They appear to be too far away from the compound to rent a vehicle and drive out there. So does Brandon's new skills as a student pilot come into play in the near future? It probably wouldn't be too hard for the guys to convince Helen to rent them a plane and pilot under the idea of Brandon showing them what he has learned, when really they have other ideas in play.

 

I know CJ won't comment on much or any of this, so it will have to remain as pure speculation until future chapters.

 

So what do you all think?

 

Steve

 

I can't comment on much of anything, except to mention how GPS works; a GPS receiver does not transmit to the satellites, it only receives. However, many models DO have transmitters; for example, bluetooth to allow them to communicate with, and use, bluetooth enabled cell-phones. That is definitly a radio-frequency transmitter. The question is, is it enabled and transmitting, or off and silent?

 

Vladimir? in this chapter? um, I dunno he seemed very childish to me. I dunno just based on this particular chapter i'd say that he's a little retarded.

 

Is it only an act? I really can't say for sure. But it can make sense cause from time to time, people that seems retarded can make things that not many can do.

 

Some of the most brilliant people in history have been decidedly odd and childlike in some ways. Einstein is perhaps the best known example.

 

................I thought that Vladimar was going to sleep with the kangaroo's right up to when Dimitri asked him to look up. I doubt either one of them are deep cover agents, if anyone is, it would probably be Gunter....the man is to quiet!! Who knows maybe it is Helen, and she put tracking devices in the stuffed kangaroos! I was also wondering if the "sweeper" would pick up the GPS since it sends no signal. Does J/S even know where Instinct are staying at! Lastly, the "pony express" is pretty damn slow, in the timeline the band and "freinds' stayed another two days before leaving for the Island, yet no word on Lump!

 

I wonder how the Scar would have reacted if Vladimer had talked Dimitri into bringing back a live Kangaroo?

Though, Dimitri might have learned the hard way that Kangaroos can be dangerous.

 

From Chapter 23:

 

Possibly...an aviation accident? Maybe Scar and his hired assassin don't read the teeny bopper magazines and are unaware of Brandon's flying skills. Brandon may take over the controls of Instinct's aircraft in an "arranged" emergency and save the day. Our hero! Of course, he needs to master landing first.

 

The bit about an untrained person being unable to land a jet is true; landing is the most difficult part of flying. On my recent trip I had a chance to talk with a British Airways pilot, who confirmed this. (I'm a small-plane pilot myself, so I was already pretty sure).

 

I think his only motive, and certainly sufficient enough from his standpoint, for killing the band (apart from being irritated with Eric) is his desire to make sure his tracks are well-covered and that no one figures out where the nuclear weapons (which he intends to transport secretively mixed in with the band equipment) are hidden.

 

 

I enjoyed this chapter (and the three preceding it since I had several to catch up on )

 

Like some other mentioned I'm eager to see what's going on with Lump. I'm also very eager to discover what happens next with Steve and Wilde.

 

 

Take care and have a great day!

Kevin

 

We'll find out what is going on with Lump, and the reason for the silence about him, in the next chapter.

[C James]

The prologue already tells us that Vladimir will survive to see at least one bomb fully completed.

 

The discussion about a plane over water sounds eerily like a foreshadow ... but this is CJ, so who knows? (Maybe not even CJ, yet!)

 

On the one hand, the lack of word about Lump is odd ... on the other, Helen may already know but is keeping Instinct in the dark, to let them enjoy the vacation without being forced to think about the whole media thing for a while.

 

Finally, we probably don't know enough about the GPS to know if it'll get caught by an electronic sweep - obviously, it receives comms from a satellite at all times, but some brands broadcast back; we also don't know if the detector used by J/S/Dimitri will pick up the incoming signals to the GPS anyways, or if they sweep for outgoing only.

 

Hi Bluesox!

I do put a lot of forshadowing in my stories, but I dare not say what, or the Echidna will get me for giving spoilers!

 

 

Technically, a GPS is a receiver only, and picks up signals from satellites that can be picked up everywhere "in sight" of the satellite (GPS satellite signals are rather weak...). There is no signal going back to the satellite from a GPS. So if a sweeper device picks up the "incoming" GPS signal, it will pick it up everywhere (pointing to the satellite as the source, with no evidence to the receiver of the signal... its a broadcast...). Some GPS devices have other communication equipment like bluetooth to communicate with a PC or mobile phone etc.. which could be picked up by a sweeper if it is active. Modern GPS devices don't consume a lot of power, so its hard to detect the electronic activity itself with a sweeper, especially in an environment like a car... so IMHO you cannot detect a GPS receiver under the hood of a car with a sweeper (except if there is a bluetooth or WLAN interface active on it...). You have to use your eyes . But if i would "sweep" a car, it would always include a manual search

 

We cross-posted, and you said almost exactly what I did about the GPS, only you said it better.

 

I'll give one small spoiler; either the GPS will be found, or it won't.

[BeaStKid]

I'll give one small spoiler; either the GPS will be found, or it won't.

Duh!